Fitzroy Gardens

May 1, 2013

On a sunny day in Melbourne, I walked into the Fitzroy Gardens after a light lunch. Located on the southeastern edge of the Central Business District, it is not the largest park in the city but certainly among the most beautiful. Garden landscapes and lovely architecture make this garden stand out among other parks.

I first headed to the Conservatory, designed in the Spanish mission architectural style. Right after I took this photo, it was filled with tourists. Inside, it was packed with the usual flowers, with one to two orchids exceedingly beautiful. But I hastily left the place since the crowds of tourists broke the serenity.

Cook’s Cottage 

As the British Explorer who discovered Australia and New Zealand, Captain James Cook’s achievements include the first recorded European contact with the eastern coastline of Australia and the first recorded circumnavigation of New Zealand. The Cottage have stood as a historical link to Captain Cook. Originally the Cottage was situated in the village of Great Ayton, Yorkshire. It was believed that Captain Cook was once lived there with his father in the cottage in the winter of 1771 on his return from the Australia voyage.

In 1933, the last owner of the cottage, Mrs. Dixon put the cottage up for sale. As a patriot, she rejected wealthy American buyers, insisting that the cottage should remain on British soil. A prominent Melbournian persuaded Mrs. Dixon to let him buy the Cottage and present it as a gift to the Victorian people, and she finally agreed since Victoria’s claim on the cottage as Australia was, after all, still “in the Empire”.

On the other side of the park, I enjoyed the lovely scenery of ancient-looking buildings and lines of trees.

I was amazed by how beautiful the sun rays shone through the leaves and created the shadow on the grass. On the lower left picture you can see my shadow as well!

 

The Dolphin Fountain

The Fitzroy Garden is not big but there’s always something exciting just around the corner. Exciting for a photographer for me at least. At the Dolphin Fountain, I attempted to capture the water drops in mid-air as the afternoon sun lit up the dolphins.

At a nearby pond, the ducks swam happily in the water. Carefree creatures they are.

Anonymous bug

I love macro shots and I think I am still on the steep part of the learning curve. In order to capture the fine details of close-up subjects, you have to balance what is in focus and what is not, as well as the composition of the image (one becomes easily bored if the subject in focus in in dead center). So, it is a challenge! I don’t know the name of the bug below, but it vividly red color stood out from the patches of green and white and served as a good subject for practice.

Macro Love

Some more macro shots of the day, hope you enjoyed this photo tour as much as I did! If you have time to walk around Melbourne, don’t forget this enchanting garden just around the corner of downtown Melbourne. It’s just 5 minutes’ walk from Collins Street (where the exquisite shops lie) and it’s definitely worth a visit.

Shots were taken with Voigtlander 15mm, Sony E-mount 35mm and Tamron A-mount 60mm Macro on Sony NEX-6.
Other related posts: Alexandra Gardens, Things to do in Melbourne, Bayside Adventure.
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